WA AFLW UMPIRES SELECTEDFriday, November 4, 2022 - 10:28 AM

WA Umpiring Trio Awarded Roles During AFLW Finals

WA boundary umpires Jaco Jansen van Rensburg and Lleyton Jose have been named to officiate in today’s AFLW Qualifying Final between Melbourne and Adelaide at Ikon Park in Melbourne.

The pair joins fellow West Australian Gabby Simmonds on a list of 16 umpires for week one of the finals.

Simmonds has been named an Emergency Field Umpire for the 2^nd Elimination Final between Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs at Victoria Park on Sunday.

For 20-year-old Jaco Jansen van Rensburg, selection is extremely satisfying.

“It’s a very exciting opportunity for me to umpire my second AFLW final this year.

 Having come off a strong season in WAFL, it’s great to see the hard work pay off.

At the end of last season, I went away and tried to improve in certain areas, so to see it work out is very rewarding.

Umpiring a final of the AFLW provides me another opportunity to further develop my skills and gain more experience, something that will be beneficial for next season. 

I started boundary umpiring in the PFL in 2017 and found my way to the WAFL in 2019.

I come from an athletic background and so umpiring was just another way to train my running (whilst being paid).

As time has gone on, I’ve continued for different reasons, the main one being the friendships and connections I’ve developed, but also for a potential future,” he said.

Jaco is determined to make the most of his opportunities as an umpire.

“Over the next few years, I plan on developing and focussing on the weaker areas of my game.

The overall goal would be to make the AFL panel,” he said. 

For Lleyton Jose, the journey continues after beginning umpiring as a 12-year-old.

“Umpiring an AFLW final means a lot to me and is something I never would’ve thought of happened a few seasons back.

It feels great being able to represent all the umpires in Perth. 

I started umpiring in 2014 in the Perth Footy League, thanks to my brothers who were also umpiring at the time.

I’m currently in my fourth year in the WAFL at the age of 20 and doing my second season of AFLW.

I’d like to give a massive shout out to the boys I train with in Perth and my running coach Suzi Graves. 

Moving forward I’d love to be able to umpire in an AFLW Grand Final.

I’d also love to run in the WAFL League Grand Final.

A dream of mine would be running out at an AFL game in front of 80,000 people one day,” Jose said.